Chapter 63: Surfacing
Yang Hao panted heavily. He looked at Lin Feng and, after a long silence, finally spoke. "I was hired by a local underworld power... Zhang Heng of the Black Tiger Gang!"
The moment he finished speaking, he felt his body lighten. Lin Feng had actually let go of him!
"Wh-what are you doing?"
Yang Hao looked at Lin Feng in a panic. "Aren't you going to kill me?"
"Of course. But you get to stay alive until you've spilled everything."
Lin Feng smiled faintly. "I just want to get something valuable out of you. You said the Black Tiger Gang hired you, so I'm curious—how did you get in contact with them?"
"I... I..."
Yang Hao immediately hesitated. He knew that if he told him, he would likely meet his end here today.
But if he didn't talk, he'd die right now. This was a transaction. Since he'd taken money to do a job, he had to play by the rules.
"Headquarters has its own special contact methods. As the assassin on this job, I have no way of contacting them," Yang Hao said, grinding his teeth.
He didn't mention that he actually knew Zhang Heng personally. The chances were slim, but it was still possible that this omission might cause Lin Feng to misjudge the situation.
"Oh? Is that so."
Lin Feng studied Yang Hao with great interest. "Well then, tell me. How much did he pay you to take my life?"
"One million."
Yang Hao hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Heh, what a greedy bastard." Lin Feng shook his head, then asked, "So how do you two communicate? Phone? Email?"
"That... I can't say..."
"BAM!"
The words had barely left Yang Hao's mouth when Lin Feng drove an elbow hard into his chest, shattering his ribs!
"Urk! Aaargh!"
Yang Hao screamed in agony. Yet, spurred by the intense pain, a sliver of clarity returned to him. His eyes locked onto Lin Feng, filled with venom, wishing he could charge forward and kill him on the spot.
Lin Feng paid him no mind, simply watching him calmly. "You'd better tell me what I want to know. Otherwise, I'll make you suffer even more."
Yang Hao's whole body twitched. He swallowed hard and said with a tremor in his voice, "Our contact method is through a dark web. Only clients who place an order with our organization can access it."
Hearing this, Lin Feng frowned.
'He hadn't expected these organizations to be so sophisticated nowadays.'
'But it didn't really matter. After all, he already knew who was behind it.'
'As for any other information, he couldn't be bothered to press for it.'
"What more do you want?" Seeing Lin Feng walking toward him again, Yang Hao's face went pale with terror. He scrambled to say, "I've already told you everything I know! Please, don't kill me..."
His body was extremely weak. He knew that in his current state, he stood no chance against another one of Lin Feng's attacks.
"Hmph. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. The moment you decided to come after me, you sealed your own fate."
Lin Feng gave a faint smile, then clamped a hand around Yang Hao's neck and hoisted him into the air.
Yang Hao felt a searing pain in his throat. He struggled desperately, but he couldn't break free from Lin Feng's hold.
His vision began to blur. He realized he was about to die.
'Regret flooded his heart. Why did I ever accept the Black Tiger Gang's job?'
'If I hadn't taken it, maybe I'd still have a chance to live. But clearly, that was just wishful thinking.'
"CRACK!"
Lin Feng nonchalantly snapped Yang Hao's neck. After confirming he was dead, he turned and left the room.
Yang Hao's corpse lay on the floor. A pool of crimson liquid slowly seeped out from his collar, spreading across the ground. The thick, metallic smell of blood filled the air.
Lin Feng went into the kitchen, turned on the faucet, and washed his hands. After drying them, he changed into a clean set of clothes and left.
「Meanwhile, elsewhere.」
"So, Zhang Heng, I assume Yang Hao is dead by now?"
Shu Yuhang sat in a chair with his legs crossed, a hint of smug amusement on his face.
"Should be."
Sitting opposite him, Zhang Heng took a sip from his teacup. "I had him checked out. That Lin Feng guy just knows a bit of fighting, that's all. There's a big gap between him and a real expert."
"The organization we hired this time is world-class. There's no way he could have stood a chance."
"Heh heh, even better. Saves us the trouble."
Shu Yuhang sneered. "Anyone who dares to mess with my business has to die."
"Regardless, word of this cannot get out."
Zhang Heng said after a moment of thought, "We need to be especially careful with this. We can't afford any mistakes."
"Relax, that's impossible. As long as we don't say anything, who's going to suspect us?"
Shu Yuhang waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, we paid a hefty price for this. Even if the police investigate, we have plenty of excuses to stall them for a long time. By then, we'll be long gone, fled overseas! Hahaha!"
Zhang Heng nodded. "That's right. As long as we don't leave any loose ends, the police won't be able to do anything even if they investigate."
"Oh, right. I'm leaving this in your hands," Shu Yuhang said, looking at Zhang Heng. "If things go south, we can just pin the blame on those mercenaries."
"Alright."
Zhang Heng nodded.
Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
"Brother Heng, it's me, Old Liu."
A vaguely familiar voice came from outside the door.
Shu Yuhang raised an eyebrow and shot Zhang Heng a look. Taking the hint, Zhang Heng immediately got up, left the room, and opened the main door.
When Old Liu saw Zhang Heng standing in the doorway, his face immediately broke into a fawning smile. He rubbed his hands together and said, "Brother Heng."
"Old Liu, what's the matter?" Zhang Heng asked, looking at him coolly.
Old Liu said with a smile, "Well, Brother Heng, there's a get-together tonight. I'm hosting it at a hotel, and I was wondering if you had time to join?"
"Oh? A get-together?"
Zhang Heng neither refused nor accepted, but he looked extremely interested.
He loved to party, and if it weren't for the current sensitive situation, he would have headed over the moment the invitation was made.
"Brother Heng, today's banquet is being hosted by a real big shot. I heard he once saved the patriarch of some powerful family and was basically groomed by them from that day on."
Hearing Old Liu's explanation, Zhang Heng instantly understood why he was being invited.
"Alright, no problem. I'll go with you." Zhang Heng agreed without a moment's hesitation.
"That's great!"
At his words, Old Liu was instantly overjoyed.
He originally thought it was a long shot, but Zhang Heng had actually agreed!